What is meant exactly by ionic liquids is illustrated in, for example, the scientific paper entitled Ionische Flüssigkeiten: Einzigartige Materialien mit vielfaltigen Môglichkeiten [Ionic Liquids: Unique Materials with Diverse Possibilities], published on 15 Jul. 2014 and accessible online at “CHE Manager-online.com.”
Hydrogen under high pressure of about 700 bar to 1000 bar is now available at fueling stations for hydrogen-powered vehicles. So-called “ionic compressors” as disclosed in, for example, the online publication entitled Ionenverdichtertechnologie, Wie funktioniert ein lonenverdichter? [Ionic Compression Technology, How does an ionic compressor work?] of the company “Flowserve”, published on 15 Jul. 2014 (FCS-Prasentation 170909 deutsch-DBI) and accessible at www.dbi-gti.de, are advantageously used for compression. An ionic compressor is similar to a piston compressor, but employs an ionic liquid column instead of a piston. Compared to a displacing piston, the liquid acting as a displacing element has the advantage of being better able to remove the resulting heat. A certain fraction of this heat is conveyed from the compressor along with the compressed gas. The ionic liquids are customarily organic salts that are liquid at temperatures below 100° C., without the salt being dissolved in a solvent such as water.
At the high pressure level during the operation of ionic compressors, there is an input of liquid fractions into the gas. This input is also known as carryover in technical jargon and makes it necessary to treat the fluid mixture.